ISE

There are bound to be differences between generations. Whereas at eighteen we spent the whole week eagerly awaiting a new episode of ‘North and South’, ‘Dallas’ or ‘Avro’s Toppop’, ISE – still only twenty – already has a few more stories to tell at the annual family Easter gathering.  De Nieuwe Lichting now seems like a minor anecdote she quickly mentions whilst filing her nails. The fact that she is the youngest female artist ever in the rich history of Rock Werchter has been told so often that she’ll roll her eyes when she reads this. She’s opened for Hozier, she’s played in a number of impressive European cities and in a slightly less European city: Yokohama. For those without an atlas to hand: that’s in Japan. But let’s wrap up this intro and tell you what we’ve got to say: Ise released her debut album “Suitcase Child” this year, and the result is a ten out of ten on the Nineties Indie Rock Scale. Every guitar string, every note and every vocal flourish from Ise represents a new level of melancholy, and the songs linger like new friends in the basement converted into a spare bedroom. And her voice, which everyone’s raving about? Let’s put it this way: Ise Smeets is the sort of person who gives free singing lessons at the weekend to all the nightingales, song thrushes, blackbirds and other spectacular songbirds that populate the neighbouring gardens. As you can see, Ise is to the Belgian music scene what Penney De Jager was to ‘Avro’s Toppop’: a real asset.  You can catch her at Club Studio Brussel on Wednesday 5 August. Do wish her all the best afterwards, because after her show in Lokeren she’ll no doubt be off again to conquer the rest of the world.